I've been working as the Social Media Editor and a staff writer at Forbes since October 2011. Prior to that, I worked as a freelance writer and contributor here. On this blog, I focus on futurism, cutting edge technology, and breaking research. Follow me on Twitter - @thealexknapp. You can email me at aknapp@forbes.com

Why Marco Rubio Needs To Know That The Earth Is Billions Of Years Old

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who many political observers think has a strong shot to be a 2016 Presidential candidate, just finished a lengthy interview with GQ that you can read here. One thing that struck my interest here, as someone who often reports on science, was Rubio’s answer when he was asked the question, “How old do you think the Earth is.”

In response, Rubio told GQ that, “I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States. I think the age of the universe has zero to do with how our economy is going to grow. I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.”

The emphasis in Rubio’s statement is mine. I say that because the age of the universe has a lot to do with how our economy is going to grow. That’s because large parts of the economy absolutely depend on scientists being right about either the age of the Universe or the laws of the Universe that allow scientists to determine its age. For example, astronomers recently discovered a galaxy that is over 13 billion light years away from Earth. That is, at its distance, it took the light from the Galaxy over 13 billion years to reach us.

Now, Marco Rubio’s Republican colleague Representative Paul Broun, who sits on the House Committee on Science and Technology, recently stated that it was his belief that the Universe is only 9,000 years old. Well, if Broun is right and physicists are wrong, then we have a real problem. Virtually all modern technology relies on optics in some way, shape or form. And in the science of optics, the fact that the speed of light is constant in a vacuum is taken for granted. But the speed of light must not be constant if the universe is only 9,000 years old. It must be capable of being much, much faster. That means that the fundamental physics underlying the Internet, DVDs, laser surgery, and many many more critical parts of the economy are based on bad science. The consequences of that could be drastic, given our dependence on optics for our economic growth.

Here’s an even more disturbing thought – scientists currently believe that the Earth is about 4.54 billion years old because radioactive substances decay at generally stable rates. Accordingly, by observing how much of a radioactive substance has decayed, scientists are able to determine how old that substance is. However, if the Earth is only 9,000 years old, then radioactive decay rates are unstable and subject to rapid acceleration under completely unknown circumstances. This poses an enormous danger to the country’s nuclear power plants, which could undergo an unanticipated meltdown at any time due to currently unpredictable circumstances. Likewise, accelerated decay could lead to the detonation of our nuclear weapons, and cause injuries and death to people undergoing radioactive treatments in hospitals. Any of these circumstances would obviously have a large economic impact.

If the Earth is really 9,000 years old, as Paul Broun believes and Rubio is willing to remain ignorant about, it becomes imperative to shut down our nuclear plants and dismantle our nuclear stockpiles now until such time as scientists are able to ascertain what circumstances exist that could cause deadly acceleration of radioactive decay and determine how to prevent it from happening.

The bottom line is that this economy, at its root, is built on a web of scientific knowledge from physics to chemistry to biology. It’s impossible to just cherry pick out parts we don’t like. If the Earth is 9,000 years old, then virtually the entire construct of modern science is simply wrong. Not only that, most of the technology that we rely on most likely wouldn’t work – as they’re dependent on science that operates on the same physical laws that demonstrate the age of the universe.

Now, this doesn’t mean that our representatives to the Congress and to the Senate should be scientific experts. But if they hold ideas about the world around us that are fundamentally at odds with scientific evidence, then that will ultimately infringe on their ability to make reasoned judgments about a host of issues where the economy touches technology. And that could end up harming the economy as a whole.

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This seems to fit “…recall also that Democrats are almost never asked needling, difficult questions that expose their religious beliefs, even though if they are Christians as they claim to be, their answers ought to be identical to the answers given by most Republicans.” Bryan Preston

Don’t worry about what Marco Rubio is saying. Worry about who he is saying it to: his base that wants to hear it no matter what holes in the plot show through. These are the ones who want to avoid the conversation of climate change in deference to the conversation about the programs that are creating adverse climate change — but we don’t want to hear about effect; just cause!

Sen. Rubio’s response is an example of the New Republican Manual for presidential candidates: No matter how the question is framed, DO NOT under any circumstances take a position on any issue other than national economic policy. Because in doing so, you will alienate at least one voter who agrees with our positions on fiscal conservatism but is not socially conservative. Senator Rubio and the Republicans may believe that strategy will work on the Sunday morning political shows or when grilled by entities it would associate with a purported Liberal Media Elite. But that same strategy, when applied to a question poised by a socially conservative, evangelical soccer mom in a small gathering in Sioux City Iowa in the fall of 2015, simply won’t fly. They will demand adherence to their morality codes from the Republicans that come calling, and ignore the candidates who refuse to play their game. And what the GOP nominees says in Iowa in the fall of 2015 will be endlessly replayed in Democratic ads the fall of 2016. You can’t win, Republicans, by not talking about what Them The Evangelical People want to talk about. You are doomed.

It turns out that science has to estimate the distance of objects further than 400 light years away by gauging the brightness of these objects. There isn’t a verifiable mathematical solution derived to determine the distance.

Considering this observation, the relevance of utilizing the speed of light as fundamental with the law of physics is not fallible.

If science has resolved all of the questions of the universe as you are assuming through your arguments, well then we might as well stop investing into science. Why fund something that has already been resolved?

To summarize what you are saying; If you don’t believe the earth is billions rather than thousands of years old, you can not grasp the economic and technical issues of today and are therefore unfit to serve your country in any form of leadership capacity.

The age of the earth while an interesting subject, has no affect on the economic issues we are faced with today. YOU may use the age of the earth as a factor when deciding to buy a pair of shoes or when funding your next project but normal people don’t.

The problem with Rubio’s answer is multi-faceted. The basic is he says he’s not a “scientist” and that the age of the Earth has nothing to do with economics. But, economics is based on facts, numbers and quantifiable cause and effects. So for someone to say their an expert on economics and then turns their back on science (even the most basic facts) leads me to think that he is not a serious person. Second it displays political cowardice, if you’re seeking high office and cannot dispute claims put forward by the furtherest right of your party then you have not learned anything in the passed 4 years of this campaign. Perhaps Rubio should spend sometime reading some the Vatican’s own stances on many of these issues, they have acknowledged the possibility of non-terrestial life, they have acknowledged that archeological facts proves the Earth is much older than biblical claims.

We don’t need any more cowards in the Republican party, the GOP needs there Teddy Roosevelt again, someone who believed in true conservationism, science and education, and most of all expelling big money and corruption out of government.

You are not completely accurate in your assessment of economics. If economics was accurately based on facts, numbers, and quantifiable cause and effect then all economists would always agree. Yet there are a variety of economic schools of thought. Economics is properly called economic theory not economic science.

Economics is based upon behavior. Science and faith, among other things, influence behavior ergo both impact economics.

One should consider that an all powerful Creator that was capable of creating all things could create them in a way consistent with the physical laws He created. Light didn’t have to travel 19 billion years, it was created in that way (in-flight as it were).

If this is true, then that all powerful God could create everything as if it were billions of years old in an instant so that it is consistent with the physical laws we have.

Yup, I believe God is that powerful. And, if this is true, then that has ramifications for those that don’t believe in Him. It means that the purpose is not a slowing universe, it is much deeper than that.